Journal of a city centre Anglican Pastor in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales (UK)

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Tuesday rubbish harvesting

A wet Tuesday morning indeed, following an even wetter bank holiday outing to Cyfarthfa Castle yesterday. Time to clear the rubbish out of the tower entrance stairwell, there since Saturday, having emailed photos of it to the city centre manager. Before I could get started, I had to shop for bin bags, as I couldn't find any in church, and that necessitated to trip to the bank to get some money out. In order to save myself from complete mind numbing, I made an inventory of the items I picked up.

172 assorted plastic drinking glasses (a hundred of them at least had Heineken - Saturday's match sponsor) logos on them54 beer cans - mostly CarlsbergTwo unpoened lager cans - to add to the six full cans from a 12 pack lobbed over the fence into south side churchyard22 plastic soft drinks bottlesA dozen paper cupsWrapping paper from around 50 pasty purchases from the Cornigh Pasty shop opposite the church tower.One of the four bin bags of rubbish collected was full of carboard, newspaper and wrappings from bulk purchased food items arriving with the spectators. All of this was sodden wet.

Were very lucky considering the rain we've had in the last 24 hours that the drain coverd in rubbish didn't block and flood the church.

Now the city cleansing department under new leadership is doing an even better job than before at getting the streets clean after big matches, but even their forces can be overwhelmed all too easily. The problem is that drinks and fast food retailers don't make much of an effort to provide extra rubbish container capacity to meet the needs of the tens of thousands extra on the street. At such times the existing litter bins quickly overflow because they can't be emptied fast enough, and far too many visitors can't be bothered to use the bins, let alone carry their detritus a few extra paces to a bin.

There are bye-laws obliging retailers to stow their street furniture and keep the place in front of their shops clean, routinely ignored by the majority. Producers of consumer food and its wrappings don't seem to feel much obligation to help stem the tide of chaos clients cause in their wake. It's not impossible to do, but it's another thing that has to be worked on in preparing the city for its shiny new future.

No comments:

About Me

Born into a coal mining family in South Wales. Chemistry Graduate, Bristol University, Seminary in Cardiff. Ordained priest 1970. Career in urban settings, and education in mission and development. Pastorate in Geneva during '90s. Worked in Cardiff city centre parish from November 2002 until April 2010. Now retired, but active in different voluntary roles. Married, with one son, and two married daughters, each with a daughter, and a foster daughter with a son.
Tweeting @keithkimber